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2017 Panel Idea Scratchpad
Click "Edit" to add your panel suggestions to this list. Please do not delete or alter anyone else's entries. Use the following format: 0. Clear, Concise Panel Title (Author's Name) This is a functional panel description of about 30 words. It is not jazzy or perfect to entice con-goers to attend, but is instead utilitarian for fellow authors to gauge their interest in participating. 1. Wonder Woman (Rigel Ailur, Susan Staneslow Oleson) Will the movie do the character justice? And what do people expect from it? What would you like to see, and what would you like it to avoid? 2. Carrie Fisher, in Memoriam (Rigel Ailur and Susan Staneslow Oleson) Legendary actress who played one of the most iconic characters ever. How did her loss affect you? 3. Firebringer Press Presents (Steven H. Wilson, Phil Giunta, more TBA) Firebringer Press authors chat up their current books as well as upcoming releases. Debut author Diane Lee Baron will launch her novel, GAL WONDER, at Shore Leave. Time permitting, there may be readings. 4. What's Your Favorite Star Trek? (Howard Weinstein) We just did a panel like this at Farpoint, great turnout, lots of enthusiasm and energy, could easily have gone 2 hours. Still a lot of love for Star Trek among fans, especially at cons which began with Star Trek. 5. Indy's Back (in 2019)! (Howard Weinstein) Is the return of Indiana Jones, to be played one more time by aging but sturdy Harrison Ford, a good idea — or bad? 6. Why We Write (David Mack) Writing is hard, lonely work. It often doesn't pay well. So why do we do it? What makes the job worth it? Or are we all just masochists? 7. Chasing Our Tales (David Mack) Our panel of writers share stories they've long tinkered with but haven't found a way to make work. Can you help them find the missing pieces of their puzzles? 8. Revision or Do-Over? (David Mack) Sometimes when we revise our work, we toss out the good with the bad and replace it with more first-draft content. How does one make revision into refinement rather than replacement? 9. Best Work, Worst Reviews (David Mack) Our authors share the most scathing, deprecatory, or ill-conceived reviews of works that they or others might consider to be their best works. 10. When Reality Outruns Fiction (David Mack) We're living in "interesting times." How can writers predict the future when current events seem to defy prediction and change too quickly to anticipate? 11. Wow, I Wrote That? (David Mack) Writers often discover stories they penned years earlier but no longer remember writing. It's probably as close as one comes to reading one's own work the way others do. What have our panelists learned from this odd experience? 12. The Art of Secondary Characters (David Mack) Supporting characters can fade into the background or steal a story. Our authors discuss the art of knowing which is appropriate, and the craft to making such players vivid and rounded when the story calls for it. 13. Where No Tale Has Gone Before (David Mack) After over 50 years, how can there still be fresh stories to tell in Star Trek's shared universe? Our panel of Trekspert storytellers talk about what they think makes for solid new Star Trek tales. 14. Your Writing or Your Life (David Mack) Writers often experience conflicts between their writing and their family and job obligations. Is it possible to use these conflicts productively? If that's impossible, how do you build a firewall between work and the rest of life? 15. Falling Out of Love With a Story (David Mack) What does a writer do if, halfway through writing a novel, she loses faith in it? Sees all its warts and flaws and asks, "What was I thinking?" How do writers recover enthusiasm for a flawed work? Do you trash it, or do you fix it? 16. Does Fiction Go Too Easy on Evil? (David Mack) In reality, evil is often banal, boring, ugly, and stupid. But the most compelling villains in fiction are often stylish, intelligent, and competent. Is fiction doing society a disservice by giving evil a good name? 17. The Character Who Wasn't There (David Mack) Are readers/viewers tired of the trope of the surprise revelation that a major character has been a figment of the main character's imagination? Our panel will compare and critique examples from several recent books/comics/TV series. 18. Ye Gods! (David Mack) From Neil Gaiman's American Gods to N. K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, many acclaimed works feature deities who behave in human fashion. What's the appeal of this trend for writers and readers? And is this trope running out of steam? 19. Friendship Is Magic (David Mack) In F/SF heroes have friends and companions, while villains have only minions. Our authors examine how cultural narratives vis-a-vis heroism, sex and gender, class, and community affect the ways we depict being alone and being connected. 20. Defending The Light Side (Rigel Ailur and Derek Attico) In fiction, as well as in real life, upbeat and happy are often equated with silly fluff lacking substantial themes and intelligence. Or called childish. Those claims, however, are often inaccurate. '21. The Role of Science Fiction '(Derek Attico and Rigel Ailur) Does science fiction have a responsibility to be a commentary of our times?